Blog, June 19^th, 2014:

Hello everyone…what an exciting day!  When I last left you J, I said that today would be the day I (the entire group) would find out where we were going to spend the next two years and the answer is:

I will be in the:

Region of: Kakheti

Town of: Sagarejo

This Town is in the EAST of Georgia – I will be only a 15 minute Marsh ride from Tbilisi. I am very excited about this for a number of reasons. First, I will be in a town and not a village (so long Mr. Mud). The town has a population of 13,000 people. Of course being so close to Tbilisi is a plus. Also, I am told that all my requests were accommodated so I will have indoor facilities, shower and a house that has heat….however, often times here in Georgia what is said is not always what is reality. Since I will be spending the next couple of days with my new family and the Principle of my school, I will see for myself.

The family consists of:

Host Brother, 15

Host Sister, 17

Host Mother, 38

Host Father, 48

Host Grandmother, 78

My host family did have a volunteer back in 2008, so they have had experience.

I am told this is a region where the people are very easy going (laid back). It is known for its vineyard and the wine culture is very rich and based on ancient traditions.

There will be another G14 is the town with me working in development and I believe there is another education volunteer, a G13, already in residence in the town. So, I won't be the lone American. 

I will be teaching in a school that has grades 1-12 and the total enrollment is 332 (students). There are (4) English teachers – so I will work with one or two of them. The commitment is 18 hours a week of instruction. 

Its Sagarejo Public School No. 2

I will write more when I return to Osiauri on Tuesday or Wednesday. It will be a whirlwind of meetings and of course meeting new people  like My School Principle  and my Host Family. I am not going to take my computer…although I am taking winter clothing that I won’t need until winter. I will store them with my new host family.

Another piece of news briefly….I have been MOVED to another language class group. This group works on a slower pace (at least they did for my first class) – so hopefully that will continue.  The facility that I take  the class in is much better as THERE ARE LIGHTS IN THE ROOM…Yipee. I don’t have to use my cell phone to see (HA). Also, a bathroom (indoor) that it right around the corner from the classroom.

Regardless, even if this group moves to fast for me I am just going to make the best of it as there are ONLY 4 weeks left of PST. I can do that standing on my head. We are on the downslide to completion.

Ok, Thanks for reading and sharing in my good news. WOW, I am just overwhelmed and loving it.

All the Best to my Faithful Readers J

Catherine Lawrence, G14 – 6/19/14

Note: The contents of this blog are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps.